Pop Mart is extending its leading IPs from collectible blind boxes into everyday home appliances, a crossover strategy generating significant reactions in both capital and consumer markets.
Ahead of the official launch of the Labubu refrigerator, market enthusiasm ignited early: resale platform listings surged to over 90,000 yuan, while JD.com pre-orders exceeded 45,000. On the morning of April 29, Pop Mart's stock price rose accordingly, climbing nearly 4.6% at one point before paring gains to 2.48% at the time of writing, trading at 157 HKD. Taking a longer-term view, the company's share price has been on a downward trajectory since hitting a historical high of 322 HKD in late August 2025, and has since been halved.
A report released by Guosen Securities on April 20 noted that Pop Mart's small appliances adopt a light-asset model of IP licensing plus outsourced production. They are positioned as a trinity of "collectible aesthetics, practical functionality, and collectible value," targeting the mid-to-high-end market. Leveraging IP emotional value, high-design appeal, and limited-numbered collectibility, the products hold strong appeal for the core collectibles demographic and show potential for broader market penetration.
The report forecasts small appliance revenue of approximately 487 million yuan in 2026, accounting for about 1% of total revenue for the year. Hair dryers are expected to be the top-selling item, with estimated sales of around 219 million yuan. The gross margin is projected to be about 52.8%, higher than the industry average. While the short-term financial contribution from small appliances is limited, the medium to long-term strategic value is significant, potentially broadening the product line and usage scenarios, increasing repurchase rates among core fans, and attracting new customer segments.
IP Empowerment and Outsourced Production: Collectible Aesthetics Enter Small Appliances The initial product line covers five categories: refrigerated containers, electric kettles, coffee machines, hair dryers, and electric toothbrushes. Utilizing the IP licensing and outsourced production model, products are sold through online channels like JD.com and physical retail stores. Pricing ranges from 400 to 1,500 yuan, emphasizing high aesthetics, collectible appeal, and a mid-to-high-end positioning.
Specifically, the LABUBU mini refrigerated container has a reference price of 1,000 to 1,300 yuan, featuring hand-painted patterns and a three-dimensional design. The SKULLPANDA hair dryer is priced between 600 and 800 yuan, equipped with negative ion technology. The DIMOO electric toothbrush, priced from 400 to 600 yuan, includes hidden limited edition numbering, adding collectible value.
Compared horizontally, Pop Mart's small appliances are priced similarly to comparable products from brands like Buydeem, Nestlé, Philips, and Morphy Richards. However, they differentiate through superior product aesthetics, IP emotional value, and collectible attributes, offering strong appeal to collectibles enthusiasts and some potential for crossover appeal to other consumer groups.
High Social Media Buzz and Rising Fan Anticipation The high pre-sale热度 is not without precedent—social media metrics foreshadowed this momentum.
According to Guosen Securities statistics from multiple platforms (data as of 3:00 PM, April 15), Pop Mart's small appliances have accumulated substantial social media attention: the "Pop Mart Appliances" topic on Douyin garnered approximately 100 million cumulative views; related topics on Weibo achieved 3.951 million reads, with about 60% of users expressing anticipation for the crossover innovation and roughly 20% adopting a wait-and-see attitude. On Xiaohongshu, posts related to the LABUBU refrigerated container accumulated over 1,300 likes, significantly higher than other content during the same period.
Limited Short-Term Revenue Contribution, Gross Margin Expected Over 50% Guosen Securities projects Pop Mart's small appliance revenue for 2026 to be approximately 487 million yuan, accounting for about 1.04% of total annual revenue. By category, hair dryers are expected to be the top product, with an estimated annual sales volume of about 313,000 units and revenue of around 219 million yuan. The mini refrigerated container is forecast to sell 100,000 units annually, generating approximately 115 million yuan in revenue. Coffee machines, electric kettles, and electric toothbrushes are collectively expected to contribute about 153 million yuan.
Detailed category estimates are as follows:
Mini Refrigerated Container: Highest attention, fewer mid-to-high-end competitors. The product features LABUBU hand-painted patterns and a 3D door handle design, being compact and portable. Estimated annual sales: 100,000 units. At an average price of 1,150 yuan, estimated revenue: ~115 million yuan.
Electric Kettle: More competitive market, core competitiveness lies in product design and brand appeal. Estimated annual sales: ~72,000 units. At an average price of 800 yuan, estimated revenue: ~58 million yuan.
Coffee Machine: Positioned in the mid-to-high price range, offers conversational and social value, suitable for home and office settings. Estimated annual sales: ~43,000 units. At an average price of 1,250 yuan, estimated revenue: ~54 million yuan.
Hair Dryer: Priced between 600-800 yuan, comparable to mid-to-high-end models from Philips and Morphy Richards. Estimated annual sales: ~313,000 units. At an average price of 700 yuan, estimated revenue: ~219 million yuan.
Electric Toothbrush: Priced between 400-600 yuan, hidden limited numbering adds collectibility. Estimated annual sales: ~83,000 units. At an average price of 500 yuan, estimated revenue: ~41 million yuan.
Regarding profitability, the gross margin for small appliances is projected to be approximately 52.8%, above the home appliance industry average. Based on a markup factor of about 3 times, the 487 million yuan in revenue corresponds to a production and manufacturing cost of around 162 million yuan. Estimating a team of 30 people with an average annual salary of 300,000 yuan, personnel costs are about 9 million yuan. Other costs, including logistics and tariffs, are estimated at about 12% of revenue, or approximately 58 million yuan. While there is a gap compared to Pop Mart's overall gross margin of around 70%, the small appliance segment remains a high-margin category.
Overall, the short-term earnings contribution from small appliances is limited. However, their medium to long-term strategic importance is high, with potential to expand product lines and usage scenarios, enhance repurchase rates among core fans, and attract new customer segments. The ultimate success of this crossover strategy remains to be validated by the market.
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